Lasya Kambhampati

Lasya is a senior at Blue Valley North. She is planning on majoring in neuroscience or biomedical engineering. She first got involved in the IYNA after participating (and placing 7th) at the National Brain Bee. She is now the Director of Chapters and is focusing on helping extend the impact the IYNA has. Lasya also runs a neuroscience blog to help students prepare for the Brain Bee and just learn more about the nervous system. She hopes to help students of all ages and backgrounds learn about the amazing organ that runs our whole lives. In the future, Lasya hopes to be a neurosurgeon and research the molecular mechanisms behind memory. Outside of neuroscience-related activities, she loves to write, read, and play the violin/piano.

Abstract The number of refugees throughout the world, particularly children, has skyrocketed in the last decade. The trauma they face, both in the home and host country, causes changes in the hippocampus, reward centers, grey matter, and amygdala. The neurology behind these symptoms is complex and not fully understood yet. These changes are link...

Abstract Amyloid beta has long been recognized as the most prominent molecular feature of Alzheimer's disease, along with tau tangles. In this paper, we will explore Alzheimer's disease by studying amyloid beta. We will discuss the history of amyloid beta and its role in Alzheimer's disease, as well as explore its properties, what ma...

Abstract Gender dysphoria, which sometimes manifests itself as transgenderism, is a feeling of disconnect between the gender one identifies as and the natal (assigned) sex. Scientists have attempted since the 1990s to understand how or if the brain changes in transgender people and what differences exist between transgender (trans) and cisgender...